Stockholm 1912: Olympic venues overview
Eight of the 16 venues were existing, four were new and four were temporary. All the temporary venues were dismantled after the Games, while three of the existing venues have been demolished, along with one of the new ones.
Sixteen competition venues were used for the Olympic Games Stockholm 1912, eight of which remain in use today: the Stockholm Cross Country Riding Club Stadium (eventing), Djurgårdsbrunnsviken (rowing), Traneberg Athletic Sports Grounds (football), Råsunda Athletic Sports Grounds (football), Stockholm Olympic Stadium (dressage, equestrian (jumping), gymnastics, wrestling, modern pentathlon, football, tug of war, and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies), the Tennis Pavilion at Östermalm Athletic Grounds (tennis, fencing and modern pentathlon) and the sailing venues at Sandhamm and Nynäshamn, both of which are outside Stockholm.
The remaining venues continue to be used for competitive and recreational sport and are home to several clubs that serve their local communities. Stockholm Cross Country Riding Club Stadium continues to host dressage, jumping and eventing competitions, for example. Founded on 1 November 1886, it is Sweden’s oldest riding club and also runs riding schools.
Built for the Games, Stockholm Olympic Stadium is a major sporting and concert venue. It also staged the equestrian competitions at the Olympic Games Melbourne 1956.
Stockholm 1912 hosted the tennis events in two venues, the Tennis Pavilion at Östermalm Athletic Grounds and the Royal Tennis Hall (Tennishallen).
The Tennis Pavilion at Östermalm Athletic Grounds saw two outdoor courts installed next to the building that hosted the fencing events, which was used as changing rooms during the outdoor tennis events. Östermalm Idrottsplats is still used by the bandy section and youth football teams of the Djurgårdens IF multisports club. In the winter, the venue’s athletic grounds are converted into a speed-skating rink. Tennis is still played at the site.
The Royal Tennis Halls (Tennishallen) were an early part of Stockholm’s tennis history and played host to the indoor tennis events during the 1912 Games. The venue was the home of the Royal Tennis Club of Stockholm at the time the Olympic Games took place. The club relocated in 1943 to the Royal Tennis Hall (Kungliga Tennishallen), built a short distance away, and the venue was demolished.
Djurgårdsbrunnsviken is still used by Stockholm’s rowers, with this stretch of water in the centre of the Swedish capital being home to Stockholm Roddförening.
Established in 1880, this is one of Sweden’s oldest rowing clubs and offers a wide range of boats – from singles to eights – for rowers of all abilities. The club’s main boathouse was built in 1913 from wooden planks and seating from the temporary spectator stand constructed for the previous year’s Olympic rowing events. Some of the seat numbers can be seen on the ceiling of this culturally significant building, which remains largely unchanged. The club opened a second boathouse in 2004.
Also surviving to this day is the Sollentuna Monument, which marked the halfway point of the Stockholm 1912 marathon course. Designed by the same architect who created the Olympic Stadium, the monument is seven metres tall and bears the inscription “1912 Vändpunkten” (“The Turn”). It was used again as the halfway point at the Olympic Jubilee Marathon in 2012.
There was no official Olympic Village at Stockholm 1912.